Retail sales for April lower than expected

The retail sales for April in Canada came in much worse than expected at -1.2% versus 0.0% expected.

  • The prior month was revised to 0.8% from 0.6%
  • retail sales ex auto was also weaker than expected at -0.1% versus 0.5% expectations. The prior month came in at -0.2%
  • motor vehicle report Steelers posted a -4.3% decline in April
  • says a new car dealers fell -5.1% after a 3.7% increase in March and 2.2% increase in February
  • Inclement weather in many parts of Canada may have contributed to the overall decline in April
  • sales were down in 8 of 11 subsectors representing 65% of retail trade
  • moving the effect of price changes, retail sales environment terms declined -1.4%
  • 6 provinces reported lower sales in April with the overall decline concentrated in Ontario (-2.3%) and Québec(-2.7%)

The USDCAD has moved higher as both retail sales and CPI missed and the expectation for a hike at the next meeting was trimmed.